Bears take field in ‘midnight growl’

MILTON, Ga. – For the third year, the Cambridge Bears football team will take part in the “Midnight Growl” at just after midnight Aug. 1.

Cambridge head football coach Craig Bennett said the event has become a tradition for the young school.

“It’s a fun event that our guys want to do,” he said.

Other schools have done something similar, he said. The teams are not allowed in their facilities until Aug. 1, so some teams took the liberty of taking that rule at face value – they showed up at 12:01 a.m. to start practicing.

Bennett and his team tried it the first year of the school.

“The first year, everybody thought we were crazy for doing it,” Bennett said. “It’s tough for us older guys, but the team loves it.”

Beyond the team, he said the school and the community has rallied around this new tradition.

“We will practice until 3 a.m., then shower and then do team building,” he said. “We can’t let them go until 6 a.m. because of curfews, but the parents make them breakfast at 5:30.”

This year, the cheerleading squad and band will take part in the event, and the school is expecting a food truck to stop by. The entire community is invited.

Bennett said last year – which was largely rained out – saw 3,400 spectators show up. This year, with the inclusion of more teams, Bennett hopes even more people will be there.

“It will be a big event for us,” he said.

The Cambridge High School “Midnight Growl” will begin late July 31 with the feeder teams taking the field at 10 p.m. The football team begins practice at 12:01 p.m.